We are delighted to welcome our first guest, Dr. Ali Black (@draliblack), to the @3Wedu: In Vino Fabulum [In Wine, Story] podcast! As our first audio-only visitor to the pod, we are excited to share more about Ali’s stories, her work, and discuss being vulnerable in higher education. Ali describes this process of making sense of our lived experiences as a ‘soulful’ experience that has brought joy to her academic life. She highlights her values around the ethics of care, gentle writing, and the importance of deep, thoughtful writing work with The Women Who Write. These “wise women” felt empowered to do more, and can be found promoting how to savour slow scholarship, find support, become more self-aware, and stop living “thin lives” in academia with these key principles.